Second chicken plant is not needed on Indian River

Ed Kee in his role as the Secretary of Agriculture has either been in the sun too long or does not have a clue about the state of agriculture in the First State. His statement that the seasonal laborers are all United States citizens or legal residents is incredulous. Has he ever been in a field being harvested, has he seen the migrants hide, has he asked these people where they come from? Oh, perhaps he thinks they are Texans or from the Florida Keys. C'mon, Ed; when was the last time you stepped out of your air-conditioned pickup to discuss the harvest with one of these "United States citizens?"

He then continues to praise the poultry industry and Allen Harim Foods regarding the former Vlasic plant in Millsboro. He fails to tell you the 700 new jobs created will be mostly minimum wage positions that barely allow those workers to survive. How about the pollution of the Indian River, not a mention, just the jobs. Wrong again, Ed, but, I guess you forgot about that? In the '70s, Audubon Magazine published a story titled, "It takes a Big Man to kill a small creek," a play on Frank Purdue's motto. The story told of Purdue's impact on Parker Creek in Accomack, Va., and how Purdue's plant pollution nearly killed everything that lived in this fragile body of water.

Chances are the same could happen to the Indian River. Something is wrong here. A second chicken plant on the Indian River is not needed, but then again, who needs the river.